


lust for life

by aquaexplicit



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Angst, Brotherly Love, Cisco's Powers, Kissing, M/M, Non-Consensual Kissing, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Revibe Kiss And Cisco Is Into At First But Later Not So Much, Season 2, Seduction, Selfcest, Training, Trauma, Violence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-29
Updated: 2017-05-29
Packaged: 2018-11-06 15:04:04
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 11,304
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11038626
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aquaexplicit/pseuds/aquaexplicit
Summary: Leading with promises of multi-world domination is not the way to get his doppelganger to join him. Vibe needs to be coaxed. Lead gently.Seduced.





	lust for life

Zoom is an idiot.

This fact is a large part of what makes his domination so unpalatable and inelegant; it’s only compounded by the fact that Reverb’s power is so much greater, in every sense. Zoom may be connected to the speed force, but Reverb is connected to _every_ force. He is in tune with the vibrations of space and time, of the _universe._  The strings that connect and control every particle in the multiverse are untouchable to a simple speedster or any of the other barbaric metahumans bumbling about, but not to him.

Reverb is above them. Not only can he see the threads of power that tether life and death, he can touch them, manipulate them. Control them.

Yet Zoom looks at him and sees a henchman. An expendable ally whose power is only useful to inflict pain and obedience. A dog with a particularly cruel bite.

If Zoom truly understood his power, understood _their_ power, he would have never brought Reverb to this earth to kill his double. Zoom would have done everything to keep them apart.

But Zoom is an idiot. He led Reverb right to his doppelganger’s apartment complex. Gave him instructions to find out what Vibe knows about him, about the speed force, and eliminate him once Reverb has gathered the information.

Zoom warns him, _again_ , as if he’s a petulant child and not the most powerful metahuman in the multiverse, that if he disobeys, his punishment will be greater pain than he can imagine. Reverb resists the urge to roll his eyes.

All the potential of the universe is buzzing through him as he vibes into his doppelganger’s apartment. He can feel his power expanding, doubling. His body feels stretched to the size of a galaxy. He can see the empire he could build with Vibe stretch between both of their worlds, span the multiverse. He can taste their destiny in his throat.

Vibe is in the shower. Reverb hears the water and Vibe’s singing voice. He smirks.

Perfect.

He’s been watching Vibe and has discerned that the softness of his doppelganger isn’t due to any fundamental difference in their DNA but their experience. Vibe has been coddled by a group of do good penguins that consistently and constantly diminish his power, disregard his contribution, and generally treat him as if he’s as dangerous as a granola bar. They see him as a pet, something cute they can play with when they have time and ignore when they don’t, and Vibe sees himself as they see him.

Reverb is going to show him they are so much more than The Flash’s tech support or Dr. Harrison Well’s soundboard slash whipping boy. They are limitless in their power and potential. They are rulers, destined to bury all the people Vibe idolizes as heroes under their boots.

Their fate is glory and it’s bound together. Reverb will show him that, too.

He’s lounging on the couch, one foot crossed over his knee, considering Vibe’s collection of hot sauce when Vibe emerges from the restroom. A purple towel is slung around his hips and his hair is plastered to his neck, water sliding obscenely slow down his skin.

Vibe screams, horror movie heroine high, when he sees Reverb. He clutches his towel with one trembling hand and points accusingly at Reverb with the other.

“Doppel – ”

“ – ganger,” Reverb finishes. He watches a bead of water drip from Vibe’s hair over the smooth planes of his chest, his belly. Reverb licks his lips. He’s been wondering how they taste.

“Who the hell are you? I mean. I know who you are, you’re me, obviously, but how are you here? Why are you here? What is the situation happening on top of your head?”

Reverb stands with a flourish. “Reverb,” he introduces. He surveys himself with obvious interest, not bothering to hide his heat or the salacious slide of his grin.

"Dude. Did you just curtsy at me?"

Ignoring Vibe's incredulous stare, focusing on the curiosity vibrating intensely around Vibe’s body, Reverb crosses his arms. “I’ve been watching you, Vibe.”

Vibe blinks at him. Reverb takes a moment to mentally compare them. His double looks so much younger, more innocent. Reverb looked like that, once. Before he knew the kind of man he was. Before he knew he could shatter a person’s nervous system with a gentle push or that he looked fine as hell clad in leather.

“I have to say, I’ve been very disappointed.”

“Well I’m disappointed too,” Vibe says petulantly. He frowns as he looks Reverb up and down. Reverb is smirking when Vibe drags his eyes over their thighs, their chest, back to their face. “What’s with the samurai thing going on with your hair? And guyliner? Really?”

Reverb takes a step forward. Vibe’s stomach flutters. He wants to take a step back, but he stands his ground. Reverb’s smile grows.

“You never answered my questions,” Vibe says.

“As you’ve already surmised, I’m you.” Reverb continues walking closer as he speaks, making a circle so he can survey Vibe from all slides, stopping when he’s directly behind his double. He speaks close enough to watch goosebumps rise on Vibe’s neck in the wake of his heated breath. “And I’m here to teach you how to defeat Zoom.”

It’s not a lie. Reverb needs to teach Vibe how much power they have before they can defeat him together. He keeps the rest of his machinations tucked close. He’s been watching Vibe long enough to know the reservations he has about using his powers. Vibe fears using gifts granted by an evil man will lead him down an evil path. Leading with promises of multi-world domination is not the way to get his doppelganger to join him.

Vibe needs to be coaxed. Lead gently.

Seduced.

Reverb is close enough to touch and allows himself the indulgence of running his knuckles over the knobs of Vibe’s spine. His double lets him, inhaling sharply at the contact. Reverb steps away before Vibe can.

“You use your powers for parlor tricks," Reverb chides as he moves to face Vibe. "As if you’re still nothing more than the boy who makes the toys or, worse, a toy yourself.”

Vibe’s face hardens. “I use my powers to help The Flash. To help people. Save lives.”

Vibe takes his role as a sidekick – still doesn’t think of himself as a hero – too seriously for Reverb to immediately dismantle how pathetic it is. Reverb has had enough practice biting his tongue under Zoom's fist that it's easy enough to choke back his disdain.  

He will make Zoom pay for that one day; he spent enough time powerless, not allowed to speak his mind. Zoom has cowed him back into the space, but soon, so soon he can taste it, he and Vibe are going to make Zoom afraid to speak. They’re going to make Zoom scream.

“But you could save so many more. You could save The Flash.”

Vibe eyes him warily, unable to trust the idea that he alone could be strong enough to save his hero. Pitiful, but helpful, in a way. Once Reverb shows Vibe everything they can do, proving that he’s the only one who can guide Vibe through their powers, Vibe will trust him, completely and above all others.

“You could save everyone,” Reverb continues, and when he moves closer, Vibe’s breathing quickens. “Let me show you. Let me show you how we can defeat Zoom together.” 

Vibe narrows his eyes. “How do I know you’re not working for Zoom? Every other meta that’s come from Earth 2 has come to kill the Flash. Not to mention their doppelganger.” 

“Because I would never work _for_ that abomination,” Reverb says quickly, schooling the deepest of his anger out of his voice.

“That’s...harsh.”

Reverb takes a deep breath. “Zoom is insane. He’s brought Central City to its knees and thinks he can take the rest of the world with it. I want to - “ Destroy him, annihilate him, eviscerate his body and very memory. “ - defeat him.”

“Okay,” Vibe says, not entirely convinced. His hand, still curled around his towel, clenches tighter. “How do I know I can trust you?”

Reverb smiles wide, easy. “Because I’m you. We’re...connected, Francisco. Can’t you feel it? What we can do together?”

Reverb can feel the slow stutter in his double's vibrations; the fear that always flows as an undercurrent around Vibe has narrowed into anxiety, insecurity, but is tempered by powerful waves of curiosity, of _need_. The desperation of it bounces against Reverb's exposed skin, sinks into his muscles, unfurling electric hot and buzzing.

Reverb has never nurtured his empathy vibes, but he doesn't need training to know exactly what Vibe is feeling. Thinking. Wanting.  

He knows Vibe is going to agree before his doppelganger speaks the words. It still sounds so _sweet_ to hear Vibe say it.

"Together?" 

"We are so much more powerful than you realize."

Vibe swallows and Reverb watches the movement of his throat openly. "Okay," he says, firm gaze never leaving Reverb's own. "Show me what we got." 

-

Vibe learns quickly.

Of course he does.

Reverb figures he has two days before Zoom comes looking for him. The other meta's have had varying time tables to complete their missions, but Reverb is a commander, far more powerful and far more capable than the pawns of Zoom's army. Zoom will assume Reverb is taking Vibe apart, gaining information, enjoying the destruction of his double the way so many other meta's have.

In a way, it is one of the few things Zoom is right about. Reverb is breaking Vibe, inch by inch. His defenses, his insecurity, his disbelief in their own power. Reverb is hauling all of those useless nerves from Vibe's bone with each success, each spoken praise, each smile and touch. Vibe blooms beautifully under his direction. 

They're only a few hours into their training. Vibe grabbed the goggles _Harrison_ created for him then snuck them into a space in S.T.A.R. Labs. He decided, after only minimal manipulation on Reverb's part, to keep Reverb's arrival a secret from the rest of the team, citing too much confusion and wanting to be sure they were as capable as Reverb claimed they were before showing his precious _Flash_ what they could do. 

Reverb acquiesced, maintaining a smile when he wanted to snarl. Vibe was a slave to his need; the need for acceptance, for love, for honor. Reverb has watched him nip at the heels of this rag tag, worthless team, simpering with that need, accepting scraps. It's infuriating. Vibe is so much better. They are so much better. 

He will show his double how to break his chains. How to follow his desire instead of being yoked by need. Then they will unleash a reckoning. The speedsters will plead for mercy then for death. They will rule, side by side.  

The multiverse will kneel to them, and Vibe will kneel to him.

"Excellent," Reverb says as Vibe unleashes another push of energy.  

The first attempts were unsteady waves; though large, their force was little more than a gust of wind. Vibe has been narrowing his manipulation, creating more and more powerful bursts. Breathing hard, glittering under a light sheen of sweat, energy of the universe practically shaking around him, Vibe is a vision. His smile, the guileless, candy bright of it, is a beacon. It draws Reverb closer as it will draw the rest of the world to their knees.  

"I can't believe I doubted how clearly awesome I am." 

Reverb moves behind his double, noting with bone deep satisfaction that Vibe doesn't flinch or sway. The force of his grin doesn't even waver. All it's taken is some sweet words, some attention, some well earned flattery, and Vibe is nearly his. Reverb revels in it. 

"You are still too concerned with the force," Reverb says. He allows his palms to skim Vibe's shoulders, move slowly down his arms, applying the barest force of energy and enjoying the way Vibe's hairs stand on end in the wake of his touch. His fingers settle gently over Vibe's wrists. "Did you feel that, Vibe?"

"Yes." Vibe is still breathless, and Reverb knows it's not entirely from the training. He tucks his smile behind Vibe's ear.

"We have complete control over the force of the vibrations. We can make it gentle." Reverb enforces this by using his thumbs to channel the barest hint of energy and drag it over the soft underside of Vibe's wrists. "Or we can make it hard." He brings one hand palm up to face the wall and releases a burst of vibrations that blows a chunk of concrete from a column. 

"That is so sick," Vibe breathes.

"Why are you so afraid of tapping into that? You could bring down mountains. Entire cities. All you have to do is let go of your fear."

"I don't want to bring down mountains or cities," Vibe says. He looks back at Reverb. His gaze drops for a split second to Reverb's mouth. A small victory, but Reverb feels its implications settle heavy in his belly and spread. "I just want to bring down Zoom." 

"Then you have to conquer your insecurity." Frowning, Vibe turns to stare at the destruction Reverb unleashed. "Zoom will sense it and he will use it. He's ruthless. You must be as well." 

"Ruthless isn't really my wheelhouse."

"Close your eyes."  

"Why?" Vibe asks, even as he does it.

Reverb smiles. He presses his chest even closer to Vibe's back, using both hands to bring Vibe's own into position. Resting his cheek on Vibe's jaw, he inhales, enjoying the softness of Vibe's hair, the scent of Vibe's skin.

"I want you to imagine the all of the energy, all of the forces, of the universe. Picture it in your mind. Light, glowing, vibrant. What do you see?" 

"Blue," Vibe answers. "It's blue and flowing. Like water, but electric. It's beautiful."

That's exactly what Reverb thought the first time he saw his fingers pull the threads of the world. It's thrilling to share this, finally, with someone who understands. Who can see the vibrations, who can _feel_ them. Who is worthy of them.

"See it inside of you. Right in the center of your chest. All of that beautiful power and it's all in you, like a coil, tight and compressed. You control it." 

Vibe's breathing goes ragged for several moments. Reverb doesn't step in. He knows exactly what Vibe is feeling now; light and heat and electricity imploding in his chest, as if his very body is going to collapse in on itself. It's tight and suffocating.

Then Vibe releases a breath and Reverb feels the stiffness drain from his body.  

"I feel it," Vibe breathes. "I can feel - everything, inside me."

"Control it," Reverb repeats. "Tighten it. Keep tightening until it feels as if you're going to burst from your very skin. Then be still. Nothing can escape you. Not even your breath. Everything happens only because you consciously allow it." 

Vibe is struggling. Reverb can feel the confusion, the panic that fires quick and deep through Vibe's body, the overwhelming desire to collapse under the pressure. The first time he truly touched his power, it felt like a star dying inside of his chest. He wills Vibe to fight it. Step up. Take control.

He can tell the moment Vibe does.

The body against his is taut with energy, ready to uncoil, but controlled. Reverb's heart beats ruthless against his chest, hungry to burrow inside of Vibe's body, to drink of that first taste of power again. He wants to slide inside of Vibe any way he can, devour the energy, share it, swirl it between them until they're drunk on the power only they know.

Reverb speaks into Vibe's ear, lips warm over the velvet of Vibe's skin. "Now let go."

The burst Vibe releases knocks them both back.

They stumble over each other's feet. Reverb regains his balance first. He wraps one arm around Vibe's middle to steady him, but it's a futile effort. Vibe is buzzing with triumph and adrenaline. He's a warm whirlwind in Reverb's arms as he turns to face him, face so bright with pure _joy_ it nearly hurts to look at him.  

"Dude!"

Suddenly Reverb is pulled into a hug. He still has one arm firm around Vibe's middle. Automatically, his other comes to Vibe's shoulder.

"Did you see that? I am officially Over Powered! God mode activate!"

Vibe's ecstasy bubbles, enveloping both of them. Reverb feels breathless with it in ways he hasn't since he first got his powers. He feels high, suddenly, affected by Vibe's own vibrations, and can only blink as Vibe pulls the electric threads that bind them and brings their mouths together.

The press of lips sends a static shock through Reverb's very core. It's _startling_ and Reverb hasn't been startled in two years. He always knows what's going to happen. He's always one step ahead. Everything always goes according to his plan.

This is not his plan. 

Their first kiss was going to be slow. Controlled and open and hot. Something that would have Vibe's toes curling in his shoes, have Vibe's muscles shaking under his own, pleading. It was going to be the first fire in a series of blazes.

Vibe pulls away first. His face is comically confused, as if he doesn't understand what just happened, and there is a soft bloom of color on his cheeks.  

"Um." Smiling, Vibe dances from Reverb's arms. "Heat of the moment. Sorry." 

Reverb finds his voice less easily than he will ever admit. "There's nothing wrong with a little self-love," he says, angling for seductive, but slipping into something rougher. His mouth stings with the taste of himself. He licks his lips, tastes their sweat and spit and joy. His eyes flutter closed at the sweetness of it. When they open, Vibe is watching him with something caught between shame and hunger.

That levels the field back in Reverb's favor. He recovers quickly - much more so than Vibe.

"Do you need a break?"

Still off kilter, Vibe reads it for the challenge it is. All of the emotions still vibrating around Vibe's body, confusion and triumph and glee, are shaded by an undercurrent of lust.

Vibe must know Reverb can sense it; smell it, feel it, taste it. But he takes a step back, putting physical space between him and the tease of Reverb's taunting mouth, and shakes his head.

"We don't have time for breaks." 

-

Hours later, they've moved from manipulating energy into force to breaching.  

"I think I need a break," Vibe calls from the rafters, where he's accidentally sent himself for the third time in the last hour.

Reverb raises an eyebrow. "I thought we didn't have time for breaks?"

"Can you just come get me, man?" 

"It would be a better lesson if you saved yourself," Reverb says casually, leaning against a table that holds various tech and two large coffees he swiped from Jitters. Vibe didn't ask how he paid for them, only took his drink with a bright smile of thanks.

It's taking a little longer for Vibe to master this skill, but it's necessary. Zoom isn't aware Reverb can do this. Has no idea Reverb can travel between Earth's without the open breaches. Perhaps Zoom wouldn't underestimate him if he realized Reverb could move just as quickly and deadly as Zoom himself. But Reverb wasn't so proud he would reveal his secrets, the elements of surprise that could lend in Zoom's defeat, just to earn the speedster's approval.

They both need to have breaching at their disposal when they take Zoom down.

Vibe makes a frustrated noise but tears into the universal energies anyway. He breaches clear across the room, then on top of the table, next to Reverb's drink.  

Wordlessly, Reverb extends a hand. Wordlessly, Vibe takes it.

Reverb holds Vibe steady as he hops off the table. Vibe doesn't immediately untangle their hands, so Reverb doesn't either.

"You're doing better. You just need to focus."

Vibe glances at their entwined hands. "Do you really think we can beat Zoom?" he asks softly.

"I know we can," Reverb says. Because they can. They will. 

Then Vibe squeezes his hand, firm and warm, and smiles before letting him go. Reverb's hand tingles. He frowns. This is the effect he's supposed to be having on his doppelganger. Not the effect Vibe should be having on him.

“Can I ask you something?” Vibe asks, settling to sit on the table.

 _No_ , Reverb thinks, irritation suddenly rubbing raw under his skin. They don’t have time for questions or _holding hands._ He swallows around the rough of his anger. Reminds himself that he knew this would be a process, a long con that necessity is pushing to break neck speed. Moving to stand in front of Vibe, he tries to soften his features.

“What do you want to know?” 

Vibe takes a sip of his coffee. “Do you have a brother?” he asks, voice gentle, eyes on the floor.

Reverb thought this might come up. Another opportunity to prove how their powers have enhanced their lives and another opportunity to endear himself to Vibe, make his doppelganger want what he has, what only his life can give them.

“Dante,” Reverb says, smile genuine as he speaks his brother’s name. “He goes by Rupture now.” 

“He’s a meta?”

“He wasn’t impacted by the particle accelerator explosion. But once my powers manifested…” 

“He was jealous?”

Reverb sighs, steps closer. Another stride and he could slot himself between Vibe’s knees. 

“That was part of it,” Reverb answers honestly. “We were always fighting over something. But that never stopped us from fighting everyone else together. I wasn’t going to let becoming a metahuman change that. So I created a weapon for him.”

And what a weapon it was. What a team they had made, burning swaths of destruction through the city that never appreciated them. Rupture thrived in the chaos. Reverb was more interested in control.  

Rupture hates Zoom as much as Reverb; more, on some days. He was concerned that Reverb was going to travel to this Earth to confront his doppelganger, but he supported Reverb nonetheless. _Find him, hermano_ , Rupture had said. _Bring him back. We’ll destroy Zoom. Together._

“So you guys, like, fight crime together? As a team?” 

“Yes, we work as a team,” Reverb says, ignoring the first question. He’s keeping outright lies to a minimum. Honesty is important to Vibe. “We’re different from you and your Dante.”

Vibe’s eyebrows rise as he laughs dryly. “Sounds like it, yeah. Dante and I haven’t been close since we were kids. He doesn’t… He just doesn’t get me.” 

“No,” Reverb agrees.

He’s not so sentimental as to have any familial feelings for Dante’s doppelganger. Truly, Vibe’s disconnect from his family only makes this easier. Reverb finally closes the distance between them, tops of his thighs pressing to Vibe’s knees. Vibe breathes deeper, only for a moment, but it’s enough to notice. Reverb pitches his voice low.

“He doesn’t get you. But none of them really do, do they?”  

Vibe doesn’t move away when Reverb cups his cheek. His eyes close briefly and Reverb is entranced by the flutter of lashes over his cheekbones. 

“No. I guess they don’t.”

“Not the way I do,” Reverb breathes. He rubs his thumb gently over the thin skin below Vibe’s eye. “They don’t understand what it’s like to have this power. They can’t even begin to get it, because they don’t _feel_ it. Here.” Reverb rests his other palm over Vibe’s heart.  

Vibe takes a shaking breath. Reverb removes his hand from Vibe’s cheek, uses a firm grip to take Vibe’s hand in his and place it over his own chest. Their bodies may be on a slightly different vibration, but their hearts beat in the same rhythm.

“You can feel it, can’t you, Francisco?”

“It’s so weird that you call me that,” Vibe breathes, but his fingertips curl into the leather of Reverb’s suit. “But yeah. I can feel it. In me. And in you. It’s like there’s a direct line from my chest to whatever beating heart is in the center of the universe. How do you deal with it?”

“I embrace it,” Reverb says simply. “You can too. You don’t have anything to be afraid of. These powers were given to us for a reason.”

It’s easy to push Vibe’s knees the last few inches apart because Vibe lets him. Vibe tilts his head back to keep their gazes steady. He swallows hard but leaves his throat bare and vulnerable to Reverb’s hand. Reverb curls his fingers around the back of Vibe’s neck, thumb moving over the jut of Vibe’s upturned chin.

“You’re, uh, not gonna kiss me, right? Because you kind of look like you’re going to kiss me.”

“You kissed me earlier. Don't I get a turn?” Reverb teases. His mouth hovers only breaths above Vibe’s own.

Vibe doesn’t move away.

“Temporary insanity. This is like, pre-meditated. And kind of incesty. I get that we’re not related but it feels. Awfully incesty.”

“It’s not like you’ve never touched yourself.” Vibe swallows again, color rising sweetly to his cheeks. Reverb noses along the skin to feel the heat. “This isn’t any different. And you have to admit. You liked it. You're curious about what it would be like to do it again.”

“I’m a scientist,” Vibe whispers, like it’s more than an explanation, like it’s absolution to a sin Reverb doesn’t believe in. He’s breathing ragged and something sharper than fear rolls from his body, stinging Reverb’s exposed skin. 

But it’s Vibe who brings their mouths together again.

It’s soft, at first, just the petal press of lips. For a moment they do nothing more than breathe against each other. Reverb sighs into the gentle victory.  

He presses closer. Vibe opens to him easily, no hint of resistance or doubt. The slide of their mouths is slick and warm and _right_. Reverb groans at the sheer relief of licking into Vibe’s mouth, tasting the summer cinnamon and heat of Vibe’s tongue. Vibe’s own groan reverberates back into his throat.  

Vibe pulls away first. He’s panting and his lips are bloody heavy, licked candy red. It’s a baroque painting, obscene art, and Reverb feels satisfaction throb heavy and in time with his lust. This is a good look for them.  

“Okay. That was. More intense than the first time.” Vibe licks the taste of them from his lips. “Have I always been that good of a kisser?” 

Reverb laughs and kisses him again. It’s looser this time, wet with want. Vibe’s inhibitions are melting, sliding slick over both of them. Reverb’s skin feels honey soaked with it when Vibe’s fingers knot into his hair.

Vibe’s heart is rabbit quick under his palm. Reverb wants to feel it under his tongue. 

He leans forward, picturing how pretty Vibe will look pressed into the table, spread out and falling apart. Reverb is going to undo him slowly, deliberately. Then he’s going to put Vibe back together, more rough and ruthless than he could have ever fashioned himself.

Vibe spreads his legs wider, hooking them around Reverb’s middle, and deepens the kiss. Reverb lets him map their taste as he brings both palms to cradle Vibe’s jaw.  

And that’s how The Flash finds them.

- 

After they flay Zoom for all the misery he’s inflicted, Reverb decides, they’re killing The Flash. Then they’re going to kill the Reverse Flash, again, and any other speedster the multiverse spits out. The only good speedster is a dead one, as far as he’s concerned.

Reverb is sitting on the table where he was _this close_ to bringing Vibe apart beneath him while his doppelganger and that golden retriever of a hero whisper with no subtlety a few feet away.

“We should talk to Jay. Or Harry. They’ll know what he’s doing here.” 

Reverb scowls. He doesn’t know who _Jay_ is, but Harrison Wells knows who Reverb is. He could concoct a story about working undercover among Zoom’s meta army, trying to bring the movement down from the inside, but he’d rather not.

“We can trust him,” Vibe is insisting. “He’s been training me and the things he can do with his powers… Barry, it’s more than I ever realized. He thinks we can beat Zoom. Me and him. Without putting you or anyone else in danger.” 

“I trust _you_ ,” The Flash says, and he’s smiling, all floppy and pure. He grips Vibe’s shoulder. Vibe smiles into the touch. Reverb clenches his jaw. He doesn’t hide his anger when The Flash looks in his direction. “And it’s awesome that he’s teaching you not to be afraid of your powers. But I don’t… There’s just something _off_ about him.”

“It’s the makeup, right? I get it. You get used to it.”

“You know I can hear both of you, right?” 

Wide eyes turn to him. Reverb glares at the ceiling before sliding off the table.

“I’m here because I want what everyone else in this room wants,” Reverb says, making pointed eye contact with Vibe as he saunters to them. “To beat Zoom.”

“See? We’re all on the same team.”

Reverb smiles, all teeth. The Flash furrows his brow.  

“Look. I know Cisco’s powers are awesome. Everything about Cisco is awesome.”

“Bro,” Vibe says, smiling gentle and radiant in a way Reverb hasn't coaxed from him yet.

Reverb is going to kill The Flash _slowly_.

“You are, man. And your powers are. But I don’t know how vibing the future is going to defeat Zoom? I mean, I get it will be integral - knowing his plans, his endgame, maybe even figuring out who he is - “

“Finding out who he is won’t do anything,” Reverb snaps. “And we can do more than vibe the future. You have no idea what we can do.”

“Then show me.”

Reverb smiles sharp at the challenge. “Of course.”

This is perfect, actually. He can give Vibe a real life demonstration of their superiority, proving not only their ability to defeat the speedsters but the sheer awesomeness of their power. Show Vibe they’re better than his hero. That he should be following Reverb’s wake instead of this poor excuse for a metahuman. 

“Try to hit me,” Reverb says. 

The Flash glances between Reverb and Vibe. “That won’t hurt Cisco, right?”

“Why would that hurt me?”

The Flash shrugs. “Okay. Ready?”

“Bring it on.”

The Flash comes at him in, well, a flash. But Reverb has been watching Zoom, who has light years of quickness on The Flash, and he’s ready with a blast of vibrations before the hero is within two feet of him. It knocks The Flash flat on his back.

“Barry,” Vibe says, rushing quickly to his side.

“He’s fine,” Reverb says. “I didn’t hit him hard.”

“That was you holding _back_?” The Flash grunts.  

“I didn’t shatter your entire nervous system.”

“We can do that?” Vibe asks, almost all interest, almost no fear.

Reverb cocks his head, grinning. “We’ve barely scratched the surface of our power, Francisco. There are still _many_ things I have to show you.”

“Okay, not to ruin the moment or anything, but shattering nervous systems? _Francisco_?” Vibe helps The Flash to his feet. “That doesn’t sound at all villainous to you?”

“So he’s a little heavy on the cheese,” Vibe shrugs. Reverb stiffens. He is not _cheesey_. He is _badass_. He is a _God_. “But he’s not a villain. He’s fighting against Zoom.” 

“How does he even know that’s something you can do, then?”

“I…” Vibe frowns. Shakes his head. “I don’t have an answer for that. But I know he’s not evil. He’s _me_ , Bar.”

Vibe walks to him, head held high, and he’s so _sure_ of his words. So sure of Reverb, of them. He’s still begging for Barry’s blessing, but it won’t be long before he realizes he doesn’t need anything from The Flash. He doesn’t need anything from anyone but Reverb. 

“I think we can do this, man. We can save Jesse and defeat Zoom without you risking your powers.”

Reverb scowls. The Flash’s powers. The Flash’s speed. Is that what Vibe has been focused on? Reverb is offering him _Godhood_ and Vibe can only see the preservation of Barry Allen’s pitiful speed on the horizon of their destiny? 

Rage boils under his muscles. He’s seconds away from unleashing another blast of energy, putting The Flash on his back again, showing Vibe their powers are worthy of more than being utilized to babysit superheroes, when Vibe reaches his side.

“You’re a hero, Barry, and this city - this Earth needs you. You shouldn’t risk your speed and now you won’t have to. We can beat Zoom. Together.”

Then Vibe grips his shoulder, and the world vibrates around them.

Reverb has to close his eyes as the vibe bursts pool water blue and electric behind his eyes. The heat comes, biting him from the inside out, and his breath leaves him. He’s plunged into a vibe that shudders and envelopes him. He sees himself - no, he sees Vibe, younger than he is now, tears staining his cheeks, face twisted in sorrow then agony. He sees Wells - not Harrison, the impostor of this Earth, who gave Vibe his powers the same way Harrison gave Reverb his - with his hand vibrating in Vibe’s chest.

He can almost feel the pain until the vibe changes, morphs harshly, and then he _does_ feel it, knife sharp and hot. His heart is _withering_ and that’s Zoom’s hand, Zoom’s rage, sundering his chest, rupturing his blood the way he and his brother have torn ragged the streets of Central City. He tastes copper sticky in his throat, chokes around the thick blood and the blunt slice of death.

Vibe yanks himself violently away from Reverb’s side, panting wild. He stares at Reverb, clutching his chest. The fear is back. It has the same tang of the blood that bubbled on his tongue when Zoom - when Vibe -  

“Cisco?” The Flash is at Vibe’s side, filthy fingers all over Vibe’s bare arms, ripped chest - not ripped, whole and together, safe and alive. “Cisco, did you vibe? Talk to me man. What did you see?”

“Zoom,” Vibe says, fingers clawing at his shirt over his heart. “Zoom and Reverb. It was just like with Wells." 

“Did you see Zoom - hurt you?” The Flash says gently, like his mouth is too pure for the word _kill_.

Vibe shakes his head. The Flash looks between them.

“He gets Reverb?”

“No,” Reverb says. Because _no_. That’s not how this ends. Zoom is an idiot and a waste of power. Zoom is a sadist whose been given too great a weapon. A mere mortal in the face of Reverb’s and Vibe’s greatness. Zoom is going to be crushed under his boot. “Not if we - He won’t. I won’t let him. _We_ won’t let him.”

He presses his palms to his own chest. There’s no tell tale liquid warmth of blood, no acidic sting of torn skin. His heart beats quick and alive. He can feel it. He can feel it.

Shaking, he staggers towards Vibe. He needs to feel Vibe’s heart, too, make sure his hands know Vibe is just as alive. Those were just visions. The stench of death and the caving in of their chests and the pain - that _pain_ , white hot and breathing, a sentient thing tearing their muscles apart - it was just an idea. A path, and not the one the multiverse wants to unfold.

Vibe moves away from him.

“You - you’re working for him. You said you weren’t, but you are.”

“No,” Reverb repeats. “Not for him. _Never_ for him.”

“I _saw_ it,” Vibe says, tears in his eyes. Reverb’s mind races.

How? When? Did they see different things, or did Vibe see it earlier, when they were training - when they kissed. No. Vibe is watching him with fresh betrayal, raw hurt. Vibe would never have followed Reverb’s lead, wouldn’t have opened his legs and mouth so prettily, if he had known. They had different vibes.

“Zoom told you to come here. Figure out what I know and kill me.” 

The Flash stiffens at that. He speeds in front of Vibe, arms spread wide, as if his flimsy form is enough to keep Reverb from what is _his_.  

“You know I wasn’t going to. Vibe. Francisco.” And that’s desperation, boiling with nails and filling his lungs with acid. He digs his fingers into the shaking meat of his palms. This isn’t the plan. This is a black spiral smoking out of his control.

No. No, no, _no_. Zoom can’t win this. The Flash can’t win this. Reverb is the victor. The multiverse gave him these powers so he could rule it. Him, with Vibe by his side, Rupture at the helm of their army. He can’t lose it all now before he’s even truly begun.  

“You lied to me.”

Vibe is crying now. His jaw is set and his mouth is quivering but not down turned. He’s stronger than the boy who whimpered through his death at the hands of the Reverse Flash. But he’s still tender enough to break, and the perceived betrayal has him shuddering. It jolts anger through Reverb’s aching heart - from the vision, just the vision - but it reawakens the want that breeds slickly in his gut. Vibe is beautiful when he cries. 

“I didn’t. I’m here to show you that we can defeat Zoom. That you can be a God. _We_ can be Gods.”

“Are you Cloud City Vadering me right now?”

“What is it with villains and thinking they're God?” Flash says, and Reverb is tired of him.  

Reverb unleashes a vibration blast that knocks Flash and Vibe back. The Flash takes most of the damage. Vibe slides from under him, getting to his feet, raising his hands.

“Was this your plan? Get The Flash and me all at once?” 

“You know it wasn’t. But this idiot is holding you back. They all are, and you let them, because you’re afraid.”

“Yeah, of letting this power get to my head and making me go dark side all over my friends and city. Can’t imagine why I’d be worried about _that._ ”

“Cisco - "

“Stay down, _Flash._  This doesn’t have anything to do with you.”

The Flash gets to his feet. Reverb can feel the rage radiating from him. There’s so much it sinks into Reverb’s pores, souring his skin. There is fear there, but it’s not of Reverb, not even of Vibe. It’s _for_ him.

“Actually it does. If you think you can threaten my best friend and not have me do anything about it, then you don’t know anything about me.”

“You don’t know anything about _him_ ,” Reverb says. “He’s not your _bro._ He’s one of the most powerful metahumans in the universe. And as soon as he embraces his power, he’s going to be the one to take you down.”

Reverb believes it as he says it, adapting his plan to rip The Flash to shreds. Vibe is going to be the one to shatter his former friend. Reverb will serve as moral support. It will be exquisite.

“Barry,” Vibe says. “Barry. This is between me and me. I need to fight this one on my own.” 

“Attaboy,” Reverb praises him.

He narrows his eyes. “You really shouldn’t have taught me how to use our powers, _Francisco_. I’m gonna kick your ass.”

“You don’t want to use your powers this way,” Barry says.

Vibe's eyes never waver. “Actually, I do. I really, really do.”

“That’s right,” Reverb says. “ _Barry_ doesn’t have any idea what you want. But I do. I’m the only one who does.” 

The first burst of power from Vibe’s hand isn’t a surprise. Reverb dodges it easily. All of the pain from earlier, the adrenaline of watching their deaths, of _feeling_ it, buzzes into something numb and blunt. All that matters is _this_. Them, dancing together in the heat of their power, dodging and reflecting and hurting. The thrill of battle, of watching Vibe put into action everything Reverb taught him, is pure exhilaration.  

Vibe uses both hands to push another wall of vibrations against him and he raises both hands to deflect it with his own. Their power slams against each other. Vibe is gritting his teeth, pressing his feet into the concrete. Reverb smiles easily at him.  

“It feels so _good_ , doesn’t it, Vibe? The energy rushing through you. The control, the power. It’s addicting. It’s hot.” 

“I already told you, Mirror Mirror. I’m not going to the dark side.”

Reverb increases his power. Vibe slides back and for a moment, he hesitates. That insecurity is back, that doubt and that fear. Reverb wills Vibe to shore up his walls against it.  

“Find your strength,” Reverb coaxes. “Come on, Vibe. Let yourself _feel_ it.” 

Vibe doesn’t want to listen to him, doesn’t want him to be right, but he does. Reverb’s gut twists hot when Vibe does exactly what he tells him and increases the force of his vibrations. 

“Good.”

“Shut _up_. I should’ve known you were evil. Anyone rocking a half bun situation has to be at least a little evil.”

“All I want is to take this world away from the rule of people who are unworthy. People like Zoom. How is that evil?”

“Because _you_ want to be the person in power. You want to take it by force. That’s not the way the world should work.”

Reverb smiles and ups the pressure. Vibe steels himself against the force, but he only manages to keep himself steady. He clenches his jaw.  

“But that is the way it works,” Reverb says, oil slick. He moves forward, pushing Vibe back slowly with the force of his vibrations. “Power goes to the most powerful. We could waste away waiting for someone to hand it over, or we could _take_ it. Think about everything we could have together. You know you want it.”

Vibe tries to rally against Reverb’s increasing power, but he can’t. He’s sliding, physically, mentally, unable to fight as Reverb crowds him against the wall.

“I don’t,” Vibe bites. “I don’t want anything to do with you.”

“You don’t have to lie to me. I know more than your power, Vibe. I know your heart. I know what you want more than anything in the entire world, and I can give it to you. I _want_ to give it to you.”

Vibe hits the wall, then, and Reverb drops the illusion that it’s his power that has Vibe pinned and panting. He gets Vibe’s hands in his own, pressing them against the wall next to Vibe’s head. Vibe clenches his jaw, angry and defiant and perfect. Reverb leans in.

“Cisco!”

Reverb barely glances over his shoulder as he untangles one hand from Vibe to throw a blast that thumps The Flash right in the chest. The Flash falls to the floor.

“Barry!”

Reverb pins Vibe’s wrist again. He’s met with eyes on fire.

“I didn’t kill him. I’m saving that for you.”

“You’re sick,” Vibe hisses. Reverb leans in, inhaling the scent of Vibe’s shuddering throat. “I can’t believe I let you get to second base.”

“Of course you did,” Reverb says. He kisses the hollow of Vibe’s throat, stretched prey soft. “And that’s what really scares you, isn’t it, Francisco? I’m the only one who knows what you really want and I’m the only one who can give it to you. But you don’t have to be afraid. All you have to do is let me.” 

For a moment, Reverb thinks Vibe will. Just tilt his throat into Reverb’s teeth, let himself be taken, trained, owned. Reverb thinks he’s won.  

He’s smiling into Vibe’s skin when Vibe’s knee comes up, quick and sharp, exploding pain between his legs.

“Son of a _bitch_ ,” Reverb growls.  

Vibe hits him with a force of energy Reverb didn’t know he was capable of yet.

“Don’t talk about our mother like that," Vibe pants.

It's the last thing Reverb hears before the world goes black.

- 

Reverb is in a glass cell not wholly unlike the ones in Zoom’s lair. He tells Vibe and his rag tag team as much.

“Lair,” Harrison says. They call him Harry, here, or at least Vibe does, and Reverb scowls at the familiarity between them. 

“Told you Zoom had a lair,” Vibe snaps back. “By the way, were you ever going to tell me that Earth-2 me was a power crazed psycho?”

Harrison - Harry - pins Vibe with a steady gaze. “You’re not him,” he says simply.  

Vibe stares back, flat with fury. “Thanks.”

“Are you sure this will hold him?” The Flash asks. He’s nursing an ice pack to his ribs. That’s only a sliver of consolation, but it’s all Reverb has in the moment. 

“Ish,” Vibe says. “I don’t know if our friend here let me in on the full extent of our powers so. Banking on the fact that we can't vibrate our bodies to phase through walls, I think this should stop him from vibing or breaching.” 

“I still don't understand why he’s here,” The Flash says. “If Zoom sent him to kill you and he botched the job, shouldn't Zoom have come to collect him?”

“He was supposed to do more than kill me. Right, Reverb? You were supposed to get information out of me. Waterboard style.” 

“I wasn't going to. You know I wasn't going to hurt you.” 

Vibe looks away. The Flash looks at Vibe as if he  _knows_ the depths that stretch cavern wide between them. As if he knows the iron cable connection, alive with blood and want, that is anchored in both of their guts. He may have seen the slick heat of their second kiss, but he has no idea what kind of fire burned through their skin when they brushed together. They are made for each other. The Flash will never know the pleasure of taking something that truly belongs to him the way Vibe belongs to Reverb.

“There's something he's not telling us,” Harry says. 

“I'm sure there are a lot of things he's not telling us,” Vibe says.

“Like who Zoom is, maybe,” The Flash suggests. 

“I already told you, it doesn't matter who Zoom is. You think knowing his identity is going to lead you to a weakness? You don't understand what you're dealing with. Zoom has no weaknesses.”

“He’s right,” Harry says. “Even if he did know who Zoom was, that wouldn't help us. I don't think anything he knows can help us.” Harry looks at Vibe, whose gaze hasn't left Reverb’s in minutes. “He came here for Ramon’s help.” 

Vibe drags his stare from Reverb to Harry. “He said he wanted us to defeat Zoom together. And he actually...“ Vibe clenches his fist, spares Reverb a withering glance. “He actually made me believe we could. Before I realized he was a Dr. Wells flavored megalomaniac bent on world domination.” 

“But we can,” Reverb insists. He can feel all the venom of frustration building in his blood. He thought they were passed this, hoped the unraveling of his omissions wouldn't collapse the strength he worked to build. “I wasn't lying about our power. About what we can do together.”

“No. I don't think he was.” Harry is watching him with narrow eyes. “He does think you can take Zoom. But he needs you, Ramon. He needs something you have that he doesn't.”

“A conscience? Sanity? An amazing deep conditioner?”

“Think, Ramon. When he was training you. Did he ask you anything? Was he surprised by anything you did?”

Reverb thinks of that first, ecstatic kiss. Vibe must think of it too; he looks to the ceiling, biting his lip.

“Francisco is full of surprises,” Reverb says lowly.

“Can we shut the gate on this?” Vibe asks.

“ _Ramon._ ”

“We worked on the vibrational pushes. Breaching from place to place. Connecting with the forces of the universe. I don’t know what he needs from me, Harry. Other than whatever creepy rocks he’s getting off.”

“I told you before. It’s not about needing. It’s about _wanting_." That has Vibe schooling his expression again. He's afraid of Reverb giving life to their desires, speaking breath into them, letting them breed in the eyes of his friends. Vibe doesn't know the freedom of living for his own desire. Of not caring what the people beneath him could possibly think. Reverb is going to show him that freedom, one way or another. He's going to yank with teeth the useless moral tethers the people of this Earth have yoked around Vibe's limbs. "It's about what we both want.”

“How can you be so adorable on this Earth and so very creepy on Earth 2,” The Flash says. “Like. Astoundingly creepy. Are you - do you think you’re a serial killer?”

“You said forces of the universe,” Harry says, ignoring The Flash completely, the only thing he's ever done that Reverb can appreciate. “The vibrational forces?”

Vibe runs his hands through his hair. It was softer than Reverb’s own, smelled like citrus and sweat. Reverb presses his palms into the glass. He's going to feel it again, bury his fingers and nose in it. Learn the exact force with which Vibe likes it pulled.

“No. It’s...everything. Vibrations, time, space - every force that holds the multiverse together. I can feel it.” Vibe pushes his fingers against his chest. “I’m - _we’re_ connected to it.” 

“Every force that connects the multiverse together,” Harry says. “Including the speed force?”

Eyes wide, Vibe turns to him. He stares as if he's just solved Reverb's puzzle. “Including the speed force. Can we access the speed force?”

“We can’t access it, no." Reverb has tried. He can see it, sometimes, thinks he can touch it, but he can't tap into the same speed The Flash and Zoom can. He doesn't need to, though. He's more than powerful enough without it. "But we can see it. Feel it. I think we can connect to it.”

“And disconnect other people from it,” Harry says. It’s not a question. “But you don’t quite know how to do that do you?”

“Some of us didn’t have the benefits of working at S.T.A.R. Labs or studying the speed force with Dr. Harrison Wells.”  

Vibe casts a questioning look to Harry, then back to him. “You didn’t work at S.T.A.R. on Earth 2?”

“I had a bad feeling about him. I never hired someone my gut didn’t tell me to,” Harry says. 

Reverb glares at him.

“If we can disconnect Zoom from the speed force, we can take away his speed.” And Vibe _reaches_ for Harry, touching his shoulder like they’re _friends_. Reverb’s hands curl around anger into fists. “We can save Jesse.”  

Harry meets Vibe gaze, something like hope but more cynical smoothing his features. He doesn’t shake off Vibe’s touch. Reverb feels a snarl scratch his chest. They shouldn't touch so easily. Vibe shouldn't have any skin under his that isn't Reverb's own. 

“If you can figure it out, be my guest,” Reverb says, drawing Vibe’s attention back to him.  

“You’re going to help us,” Vibe says.

“Bossy,” Reverb teases, just to see if he can coax a blush onto Vibe's cheeks.  

“I’m serious. You owe us that. And once we figure it out, you’re going to take us to Zoom’s lair. We’re going to rescue Jesse and take Zoom’s speed so he can’t hurt anyone again.”

“And then we’re going to find a pony and ride him happily into the sunset together.” Reverb sighs.

Vibe smiles, not kindly. “You’re the one who said you wanted to bring Zoom down together.”

“I do,” Reverb says. He presses his body closer to the glass. It’s a siren song, drawing Vibe closer. Reverb can taste the acid of his frustration. “But I can see it in that sweet little head of yours, Vibe. We take Zoom’s speed away, send him to some prison or something, then reunite the young Wells with her precious daddy. That’s not going to happen.”

“Why not? We’re still doing your plan. You still get what you want. Granted, it leaves out the whole taking over the world thing. But you’ll get over it.” 

“Because Zoom will kill the girl before we can get to him,” Reverb says. He half wants Zoom to crackle inside the room and slaughter all of Vibe’s little friends, show the horror he can inflict, if only to inspire the rage he knows is taut and compact in Vibe’s belly. To make it flame and grow and burn. Vibe needs a jolt of reality, but he's going to hate the person who electrifies him with it. Reverb doesn't want that. “Not before he kills old Harry here, though. He’s dead set on murdering him in front of her.”

Harry’s body comes alive with rage, but Vibe steps in front of him. Just as angry. But he’s still not channeling it right.

“How can you say that like it doesn’t mean anything to you?”

“Because it doesn’t," Reverb says honestly. "These people mean nothing to me. Which is more than I mean to them, by the way. Do you know what Harry did when the meta’s started popping up after the accelerator explosion? He made an _app_. He _profited_. If I had been one of the people who died, would he have given any of that profit to my family? Do you think he would've sent Dante his regards?”

“That doesn’t matter,” Vibe says. His voice is unsteady but he believes his own words. Reverb rolls his eyes. “He doesn’t deserve to have his daughter taken away. And she doesn’t deserve to lose her father. Zoom can’t get away with it.” 

Reverb cocks his head. “Harry really hasn’t filled you in on everything Zoom can do, has he?”

“He filled me in enough.”

“Not enough to realize that at this point, his kid is better off dead.” He hasn't seen the girl much. He's heard she's resilient, but he knows Zoom's love of pain. He'll inflict hurt, not to gain information, not to sway anyone to his side, but for the pure and simple joy of making a woman scream. Whatever they find in that glass cell isn't going to be Jesse Wells. 

“Don’t you talk about her,” Harry hisses. “You’re going to help us get her back, and afterwards I’ll show you. I’ll show you what it means to be better off dead.” 

“Wells,” The Flash says, softly.

Vibe stares at Harry like he’s seeing him for the first time. Reverb laughs.

“You really think he’s worth it?” Reverb asks. “Do you think he’d try to help avenge you if your Dr. Wells appeared again? Does he even know that the man who wore his face on this Earth tried to kill you?” 

“He’s aware,” Vibe grits. 

“And what was his reaction to finding that out?”

Vibe doesn’t answer. Reverb doesn’t need him to. He can guess.

“You’re better than him,” Reverb says. He honeys his voice, presses his palms to the glass, willing Vibe closer. Enveloping him as much as he can with the glass between them. “And you’re more powerful than the Flash. Why can’t you see it?”

“I’m not,” Vibe says. But it’s weak. Everyone in the room knows it’s a lie. “Just help us. Please, Francisco. We can work together, just like you want, and get rid of Zoom, just like you want.”

“What about everything else I want?” Reverb asks, tilting his head.  

“I won’t let you kill anyone.”

“Don’t be such a child.” 

Vibe watches him, unflinching, uncompromising. Reverb considers faking it. Pretending to agree, keeping his distance from the rest of the team, working with Vibe to bleed another vein of their power. Vibe would be wary, as would the rest of them, but what choice would they have?

And the second he learned how to unplug the speedsters from their precious power, he would crush Zoom like the bug he is. The Flash, too, and any other speed powered meta he could get his hands on.

Vibe would resist, at first, but Reverb knows all he needs is more time. He can pull his doppelganger along with him, cutting swaths of domination through the multiverse, breaking Vibe with every new power, every fresh kill, every deep kiss. Eventually, Vibe would follow him willingly. Fight by his side, spread prettily in his bed, on fire with the same blood lust.

He’s watching visions of them, power drenched and bloody, when Caitlin Snow - no powers here, useless - bursts into the pipeline.

“Cisco’s metahuman app is going crazy,” she pants, barely able to keep her fascinated, horrified gaze off of Reverb. “I think it’s Zoom.”

Reverb closes his eyes. God. Dammnit.  

This day keeps getting worse.

“You want our protection, you have about, oh, thirty seconds to agree to our terms.” Harry crosses his arms as if he’s _won_ something. “Unless you think Zoom’s not here to kill you for failing your mission.”

“Harry,” Vibe snaps. “How do we. Dammnit.” 

“Maybe Zoom doesn’t know he’s here,” The Flash says.

Reverb doesn’t have time for this. He breaches out from behind the glass. Vibe looks more exasperated than impressed when Reverb appears right in front him.

“I would love to stay and continue to debate our destiny,” Reverb says, casually opening a breach. “But I think this is my cue to leave.” 

“You can open breaches?” Caitlin asks.

“Ramon can do a lot of things we didn’t realize before.”

“Come with me,” Reverb says, extending his hand.

Vibe stares at it. “You really are crazy.”

“You know I’m right. About everything.”

Vibe hesitates. It’s only for a _breath,_  but Reverb feels it. Vibe imagining taking his hand, following him through the breach, making everything Reverb whispered into his ear come true.

“You said you knew what I wanted,” Vibe breathes, jaw jumping, rage vibrating around him. “That only you could give it to me.” 

Reverb grins. “You know I do. You know I am.” He brings his palm to Vibe’s throat. “Let me show you.”

“I think you want the same thing,” Vibe says, ignoring Reverb's offer, acting as if he's ignoring Reverb's touch. He sounds harsh and firm, in control. Reverb lets his thumb drift under Vibe’s mouth. “You want someone to really know you. To really _see_ you, really _get_ you. To understand you and to never leave.”

Yes. Reverb’s thumb drifts back to Vibe’s neck, pressing feather light against his pulse. It beats wild and hot and alive. Yes, that’s what he wants. The same thing Vibe does.

Eyes fluttering, Vibe gives him a moment just to memorize the vibration of his life. “I’m the only one who can give you that. But not if you leave. Not if you don’t help us right all of these wrongs.” Vibe’s hand comes up, pressing lightly against his. “Stay, Reverb. Stay here and we can _both_ have what we want.”

Reverb surprises him this time. He crushes their mouths together, quick and open and wet. He hears Caitlin and The Flash gasp, scandalized. He doubts Harry has any sort of reaction.

When he pulls away, Vibe’s mouth is a red slash. It looks bloody. Reverb wants to taste it again, but if Zoom really is on his way, Reverb is already out of time.

“See you around, Vibe.”

He winks before jumping into the breach.

-

Zoom doesn’t find him for days.

The breach opens in a warehouse a few miles outside of town. Reverb doesn’t make his way back to he and Rupture’s safe house for a while. He meditates instead, trying to even out the adrenaline and rejection and rage. It’s difficult at first; he keeps seeing Zoom’s hand buried in his chest when he closes his eyes. Eventually he calms enough to asses everything that happened.

Probably he approached the idea of multiverse domination too soon. That was on him. Or on The Flash, really. If that save the day superhero hadn’t shown up, he would’ve had Vibe on his back, twirled tight around his fingers.

He wasn’t as close as he thought at that point, but he was close. When he left, there was a part of Vibe, however small, that wanted to come with him. That wanted the future Reverb promised.  

The rejection still stings. Still burns the hole Reverb has to look down to remind himself isn’t really gaping in his heart. He showed Vibe their potential, promised him everything, and even if Vibe had thought about it, Vibe had ultimately said no. To him. To them.  

Reverb brings the building down before he leaves. It calms him a bit.

He finds Rupture after that. Tells him everything that happened - leaves out the kisses and the heat and the taste of Vibe’s mouth - and Rupture grips his shoulder. _You did well_ , Rupture tells him. _Vibe is our blood. He’ll come around._  

They part ways. Everyone knows Zoom is on the war path, searching for the Ramon brothers, but there are as many people who are as terrified of Rupture and Reverb as Zoom. Rupture goes to Coast City - he loves blood in the ocean, too many _Jaws_ marathons. Reverb stays in Central City and promises to be careful.  

He vibes on his doppelganger to see if they’re any closer to unlocking the way to disconnect Zoom from the speed force. They’re not. They’re not closer to anything, really. They handle Vibe with kid gloves, as if he’s a fragile, broken thing. It figures. Learning more about Vibe’s power only inspires them to treat him like a younger, more clumsy child than before. Another way of keeping Vibe from fulfilling his potential.  

While he waits for Zoom to find him, he practices. Topples the mayor’s office and a few banks. Shatters the nervous systems of a few of Zoom’s favored meta’s; a few times, he just breaks down some major nerves, sending a few bumbling back with only enough wits to say his name. He wants to show Vibe how to do it. Wants to teach Vibe to feel pleasure and pride in destruction, both intimate and awesome. 

He doesn’t sleep much, but when he does, he finds an abandoned home or mansion and crawls into the sheets. Dreams of Vibe’s skin under his mouth, of their hearts beating in time, of their hands in each other’s chest. He wakes up in a sweat, fingers clawing at his own skin. He always vibes his double after. Vibe is safe, sweet, and sound, tucked and writhing in his own nightmares. They could soothe each other through the pain, if only Vibe would let them.

When Zoom finally does find him, he’s just frightened Killer Frost and Firestorm from a fight. Pathetic.

Zoom slides in after them, filling the nameless alley with blue lightening and rage. Reverb shores his fear, the visions of he and Vibe’s death, the pain that’s been festering wounds in his chest since his visit to the other Earth.  

“You’ve been hiding things from me, Reverb,” Zoom says in that slow, gravel rough cadence. Pretentious and cruel. Reverb is going to rip his tongue out. Not tonight, but soon.

“A boy needs his secrets,” Reverb says.  

“What did I tell you to do to your doppelganger?”

“Find out what his team knew about you and the speed force. Hurt him,” Reverb growls, hackles rising. “Kill him.”

“But instead you tried to recruit a playmate.” Zoom is in front of him before he can blink his eyes. Gloved fingers curl around his suit, pulling him to his tip toes. Reverb keeps his head level, never looking from Zoom’s gaze. He refuses to bow his head to this man ever again. “I don’t like being disobeyed.”

Reverb clenches his jaw. “I don’t like being told what to do.”

Zoom laughs. It’s a grating sound, rough in Reverb’s ears.  

“I’ve allowed your insolence far too long,” Zoom says. “I was hoping to wait. Kill you in front of your brother. Perhaps I’ll drop your body at his feet before I tear his heart out. Or maybe I’ll leave it for your precious Vibe to find.” Zoom leans in close when he says, “He's been so worried about you.”

That catches him off guard. Almost enough that he misses the hiss of Zoom’s hand ripping apart the wind. But the blunt buzz of light speed fingers against his chest sharpens his focus.

He knows what to do. He’s been training for this. A speedster hand feels much different going through his flesh - bone muscle blood - than copper pipes, but it’s the same basic principal. Vibrate his body at the frequency of Zoom’s speed, push his atoms farther apart, accommodate the foreign stretch for as long as he can hold his breath.

It hurts more than the pipes and tree branches he practiced phasing through his heart. Not all physical hurt. The flashes of that vibe burn bright behind his eyes in ways they didn’t when he trained for this. All of the light and pain make it difficult to focus, and a small, traitorous part of him whispers, _let go, let go, let go_.  

But that’s the coward’s way. Reverb isn’t a coward in the face of Zoom, not now, not ever again. He leaves enough muscle crowded in Zoom’s hand for the speedster to think he’s crushing something vital.

When Zoom pulls his hand away, Reverb crumples to the ground.  

Zoom, thankfully, doesn’t make good on his threats. It’s borderline offensive that Zoom doesn’t consider him or his brother or Vibe enough to even emotionally taunt them, but Reverb doesn’t know how good he would be at playing dead for an extended amount of time. Not that Zoom would even notice - _idiot._

He waits several minutes before pulling himself up. His chest aches like a _bitch_. When he opens his suit, there’s a wide, jagged, but shallow wound. It’s bleeding sloppily, not fatally, and even the pain of the wind pulling at his torn skin can’t quiet his laughter.  

Zoom couldn’t kill him. But once his genius doppelganger figures out how to use their power to cut off a speedster’s speed, Reverb will be able to kill Zoom. Will be able to hurt and humiliate him every way Zoom has inflicted hurt and humiliation on him, on Rupture, on Vibe.  

More laughter hurts his chest, but he can’t stop. Nothing can stop him, not now.

He’ll find a hospital. Get someone to stitch him up, fill his pockets with pain meds. Not that he really needs them. His adrenaline is pumping river fast and ocean deep. He might not even kill whatever unlucky nurse patches his skin whole. 

Then he’ll find Rupture. Tell him he can cheat death and all of the plans Rupture warily listened to are closer to his grasp now more than ever. Perhaps wait a few days on the live demonstration of his new ability, because God, his chest _stings_. But he will show his brother this power. 

_Then._

He’ll go to Vibe again. Surely they’ll have found the answering to robbing Zoom of his speed by then. This time, he’ll be able to show Vibe they can cheat the thing they feared most. This time, he’ll bring Vibe back with him. This time, he won’t give Vibe a choice.

Reverb is still laughing as he breaches to the nearest hospital. It hurts like hell, but it’s worth the pain.

**Author's Note:**

> i've been working on this a while but wouldn't have finished it without liveyourtemptation's "are we a pack or running free (how big our eyes, how sharp our teeth)" (which you need to read and comment on if you haven't!!!).
> 
> also, lust for life by lana del rey ft. the weekend is THE revibe theme song. the part where lana says 'my boyfriend's back, and he's cooler than ever' is big cisco mood when reverb skateboards back onto earth 1 with winged eyeliner and sea salt spray curled hair and reveals that he's still alive.


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